This invention is directed to an improved occasional chair, and more particularly, to a sling chair with a removable sling. Typically, sling chairs have a frame that is generally made of extruded metal tubing that is assembled into a rigid frame that defines the sides of a seating area. A sling rail, sections of tubing having channels formed therein for insertion of the sling, are positioned along the sides of the seating area, generally within the exterior confines of the frame. Usually, manufacturers of sling chairs first weld one sling rail to one side of the frame, insert the sling into the welded sling rail and the opposite loose sling and finally attach the loose sling rail to the opposite side of the frame. Commonly, the use of rivnuts and bolts are used to fasten the opposite loose sling rail to the frame thus tightening the sling material in place. In sling chairs, the seat and backrest are formed by a relatively heavy web of material that is tautly stretched across the lateral sides of the frame. The only way to remove the web of material from the chair frame is to dismantle the chair frame.
An object of this invention is to provide a sling chair with an easily removable sling for aesthetic and/or maintenance purposes while improving the strength without altering the basic design of the chair frame. The sling chair is completely welded together and eliminates mechanical features.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sling chair that is comfortable, adaptable to all body shapes and relatively inexpensive.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sling chair with additional seat supports to sustain the tensile forces created from a person sitting on the sling chair.
Previous attempts have been made to provide an attachment means for a removable chair covering to provide easy maintenance of the chair covering and/or replacement of the chair covering for aesthetic reasons such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,383 to Hand ('383 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,048 to Yount ('048 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,292 to Cozzani ('292 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,367 to Vanderminden ('367 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,348 to Hess ('348 patent); all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The '383 patent discloses an attachment means for attachment of cloth to a furniture frame, particularly to a chair assembly including a frame defining a channel and a deflectable wall, a retainer receivable by the channels and engageable with the deflectable wall and a web of fabric located in said channel and engageable with the retainer. The chair frame has an attachment means for the backrest fabric and an attachments means for the seatrest fabric.
The '048 patent discloses a collapsible chair made primarily of canvas and hardwood made up of two sides each having an arm, a front and back leg, and a bottom connecting member between the front and the back legs. Canvas seat and back are mounted in grooves in each of the two sides with stretcher means to enable assembly of the sides, seat and back means to be a very comfortable occasional chair.
The '292 patent describes a fixing device for securing a cover to a seat. The device comprises a support and a plurality of elastic fastenings locked in the support, wherein the support comprises more locking apertures than the device has elastic fastenings. The support is sewn onto the covering, the fastenings are locked in the support and after positioning the covering on the seat, the hooks of the fastenings are engaged on the seat.
The '367 patent describes a sling chair in which the sling is secured in a front cross-bar which is pivotally mounted in a suspended matter at the front of the chair to accommodate the various positions of an occupant. A flexible plate is also secured to the front crossbar under the sling to increase the contact area with an occupant's legs and thus spread the load.
The '348 patent describes a sling chair with a webbed material stretched tautly across a rigid skeletal frame. The chair has a skeletal frame and a pliable seat and backrest having a first and second superposed and interconnected fabrics. The first and second fabrics have looped fabric portions that define opposite side edges of the fabrics. Each of the looped fabric portions in the first fabric contains an elongate flexible member. The chair frame include lengthwise extending passageways and longitudinal slots for receiving the looped fabric portions of the first fabric and the elongate flexible members to secure the seat and backrest to the chair frame.
None of the devices mentioned above describe a sling chair with a removable sling comprising a simple one-step method of attaching the sling to the chair. In particular, the '348, '048 and '367 patents describe a sling chair with a non-removable sling. In order to remove the sling, the chair frame must be dismantled. The chair described in this patent is meant to provide an easy method for removing the sling from the chair for either maintenance purposes or replacement of the sling for aesthetic purposes without the need of mechanical fasteners.
The '092 patent describes a device for fastening a seat cover to a seat and comprises a support and a plurality of elastic fastenings locked in the support, wherein the support comprises more locking apertures than the device has elastic fastenings. In order to use this device, the support must be sewn onto the covering, the fastenings must be locked in the support and after positioning the covering on the seat, the hooks of the fastenings must be engaged on the seat. Alternatively, the present invention discloses a one-step method for releasably fixing a sling to a chair frame, without the need of sewing the support onto the covering or placing fastenings onto the chair frame.
Finally, the '383 patent describes an attachment means for attaching a cloth to a furniture frame. The '383 patent describes attachment means in the frame of the chair for attaching a seat rest fabric and attaching a backrest fabric. The attachment means comprises a frame defining a channel and a deflectable wall, a retainer receivable by the channels and engageable with the deflectable wall and a web of fabric located in said channel and engageable with the retainer. The removable attachment means disclosed in the present invention comprises insertion of a unitary removable sling into inner channels formed in sling rails included in the chair frame, sliding the sling downwards until the sling forms a backrest and seatrest covering the chair frame and placing sling fasteners for securing said sling into place. Removal of the sling is accomplished by removing the sling fasteners and pulling the sling upwards as the sling edges slide out from the inner channels contained within the sling rails of the chair frame.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for a sling chair with a removable sling, which is easily and efficiently removably attachable to the frame of the chair.
There is a further need in the art for a sling chair with a removable sling, which can be detached from the chair frame for cleaning and repair purposes.
There is a further need in the art for the removably attachable sling to maintain the resistance of slings utilized in previous sling chairs, namely those slings which are permanently attached to their frames.
There is a further need in the art for a sling chair with a removable sling which eliminates mechanical fasteners in the installation and removal of sling materials.